"Get Me Out of This Crazy Van!"

Mr. Graff and I try to let our littles know what is happening, but life has been happening at such a fast pace recently that, sometimes the messages get a little boggled. 

We told Rae that we were going to get in the car to go see Grandma. "NO. We have to fly to Gwammas," he told us. 

So, we tried to explain our complicated itinerary: to this Grandma's, now to a wedding, back to Grandma's, no, not that Grandma, the Grandma who has fish. Now to the beach for a few days, back to the Grandma with fishes. Now to an airplane. Now to another airplane. Now to Grandma and Grandpa's until Daddy comes and gets us.  

After that long winded explanation, we loaded up and left. 

A few hours down the road and Rae started saying, (then saying louder), 

"Get me out of this cwazy van!" 

"We got a long way to go," says Mr. Graff. 

It's a lot of upheaval, and routine changes, and time zone changes. Overall, everyone has done well. I'm glad we are settled for a little while and hoping for routine to kick in (and the tired headache to leave). I'm rather proud of my littles. 

We got to spend time with a lot of family (it's amazing that twenty people can live together peacefully with only two toilets, seven of those twenty people being under the age of four). 

So here are some highlights: 

Aunt Squid introduced Caleb to the pool. She even gave him his face in the water experience.  

Rae, uninterested in flotation devices, held fiercely onto the side of the pool and made his way around the edges. He would then pull himself up and run (I mean, walk) back to the stairs and go again.  

I love it when Aunt Squid reads to my babies. I think she's reading "Go, Dog, Go!" 

We got to take a ferry ride to see a Ft. Fisher, a Confederacy Civil War fort. It has a large earthen works fortification and was THE port for the South during the Civil War. Because it was so well fortified, it was not taken until the Civil War was almost over. 

The beach was wonderful. I loved hearing the waves while we slept, and the cool breezes off the ocean. I liked collecting seashells and strolling after the boys went to sleep. Caleb would wake up stupid early, so we'd go watch the sunrise on the beach and walk to the pier. 

Rae loved going to the beach with Grandpa. He has a raccoon sunburn and a fearlessness about the salty waves. Well, at least if Grandpa is holding him. 

Joe, my child that holds himself rigid and screams during baths, loves the ocean. He grabbed my hand and had me walk in him as far as I would go. He loved the waves and giggled and stomped on the foam. 

Most of Caleb's beach days were in the wicked early morning hours, but here he's napping on the sand. 

I like Joe's hair. 

We made it safe to Grandma and Grandpa's house, on two flights with three adults, three small kids, and a dog. There was so much luggage and logistics, but I am super grateful for all the people that helped us along the way! 

And now we are out of that crazy van and on to new adventures. 

Life this Week

Remember the cabinet painting project? 

I got quotes for someone else to paint my cabinets--- one for $950 and one for $3600. I was impressed that I kept a straight face when they gave those quotes to me. Good night! So, of course, we decided to do it ourselves. 

FORTY HOURS of work later, the cabinets are painted and re-hung and look great. I still have touch ups to do, and I drilled one of the door handles higher than it needed to be, and one of the drawer pulls is being stubborn, BUT… other than those things, the project is looking closer to done. 

Before: 

(Sis. Pace, do you see the star? It has hung in our kitchens everywhere we have moved. And I love it.) 

Then we took all the doors down. 

And set up our paint station: 

And put on four (sometimes five) coats of paint---two coats of primer and two coats of legit paint. Legit as in "water based alkyd cabinet" paint. It's beautiful paint, and only caused a small hernia when I bought it. 

Ta da. 

It took a couple of days to get used to all the white. It was rather glaring for a while, but now I like that it makes the room feel bigger (it was already pretty big) and brighter. 

I thought I could get it all done in two Saturdays and a week between, but it took me an extra four evenings to finally get all the doors finished and rehung. But hallelujah, it is close enough to done that I am finally starting to appreciate it. 

Which means I only had one evening to get ready for the Paint Party I'd been planning for a month. So Friday was filled with shoving things in closets, moving everything to the center of the room, and patching up holes in the walls. 

The Paint Party went really well. We had tons of help, and got a lot accomplished. There is still so much more to get done (it's overwhelming if I stop and think and stress about it), but I think that if the Lord wants us to go to Hawaii, He'll find a way to get it all done before we have to leave. All I got to do is trust and work. 

And we've been blessed with lots of help. (That's my sister-in-law, Squid.)

I painted from a little before seven until a bit after midnight. It was a long day. 

It was a long day for Mr. Graff, too. The boys and Mr. Graff spent the day at a friends' house. One of the things they did was play at a park. 

There was a large jungle gym at the park. Mr. Graff refrained from pointing out or encouraging playing on it, but he didn't forbid it either. And watched and waited. Sure enough, Rae discovered and played on it compulsively. 

(Rae's in yellow. We often keep him in bright colors so he is easier to spot at a distance.) 

A large group of kids were there, but when their number dwindled down to three, Rae decided to play with them. He stared down the belly button of a big kid, then shoved him. Then shoved the other two. The big kids were nice to Rae, but laughed at the three year old trying to push them around. Rae was nice, too, after some talking and time-out. 

That's my Rae. Picking on the big boys. 

You can't really see that he's smiling, and how high up he actually is...

He'd laugh and drop to the ground. Sometimes the big kids would bear hug him and help him down. And instead of just walking out of one of the bottom triangles, Rae grabbed for a higher one and walked his feet up. 

Why take the easy way out? 

Our friends had us over for dinner, and then I went back to painting and Mr. Graff took the boys to another friend's house for the night. We are so blessed with good friends. And we got a lot of good work done. 

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Joe had a follow up for surgery with his ENT doctor. They put him in a full body swaddle with lots of velcro and had two nurses hold him down while the doctor looked through a microscope into Joe's ears. 

His ear tubes are still in place, anchored well, and open! 

And there are no new masses in his mouth! 

Happy day! 

Last week, Joe tried to swipe a water cup from an unsuspecting deacon, and there was much drama when his attempt was foiled. This week, we figured that it's just water, and let him have his own cup. He put it up to his mouth and tried to drink it, but mostly got it everywhere. And he was super happy and proud of himself. 

Joe has figured out the slide in nursery. It's been about two weeks since he's started getting interested in going up and down the slide, and in those two weeks, he can now do it by himself. That's huge! Way to go Joe! 

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We've been in renovation/construction/packing mode for [EVER] awhile now, so we're getting creative in kid entertainment and containment. 

This is Caleb playing with toys (a sponge, clean of course, and a foam star) that I attached to the computer table with curling ribbon. He really liked playing with them, until he found the lamp cord. Then, the lamp cord was cooler. 

Our infant seat, walker, and swing are all in storage, and Caleb is not quite big enough to sit up independently, so Mr. Graff engineered a baby croissant seat out of a comforter to contain Caleb while he cooked dinner. 

Genius. 

We think that Caleb is teething something fierce because he is eating only an ounce at a time, generally ornery unless held, and waking up 3-4 times a night. At least we're hopeful that it's a phase and he'll go back to being Baby Wonderful. We still like him, though. 

On the other hand, Caleb is pretty adventurous, fearless. He likes life on the wild side. And he loves his brothers. He needs to be in the middle of whatever is going on, and he can't sleep if there's action that he's missing. He's endlessly curious and wants what you want. 

There's something nice about a herd of little boys. They are wild and funny and love each other. 

Happy Mothers' Day! 

Playing Favorites and Forgiveness

I play favorites. My favorite is the one I am with. 

So, when I am watching Rae water the garden (his new chore), he's my favorite. 

When I'm helping Caleb learn how to eat Cheerios, he's my favorite. 

When I sit with Joe while he tries to drink water out of a cup, he's my favorite. 

(Or when he tries on shoes.  He's obviously not drinking water in this picture.)

Joe, in typical Joe fashion, demanded to be treated like a big kid. His latest is he demands to sit in a big person chair at the table. He demands a cup of water and then tries to drink it. It gets to his lips--I think a little might actually be going in his mouth.  He sputters and chokes when a lot goes in. In sacrament meeting, Joe demanded to get a sacrament cup of water! I helped the tray dodge Joe's grasping hands, only to find Joe wandering into the aisle to swipe one off of the tray of a poor unsuspecting Deacon.

I love each of them differently. They are so different! I thought that when you loved your kids, you love them all the same, but I'm learning that is just not true. 

My heart aches for Joe when he trips over his ankles and slams into door frames, because I love Joe. I'm so proud of Rae when he doesn't run off on a family outing and frustrated when he would rather be in "time out" than Primary, because I love Rae. I feel content when I dance with Caleb and laugh when he eats paper, because I love Caleb. 

Each of those situations is different, and each boy is  different. 

But I love them all. 

Lately, I am learning that it is not the "perfect" moments that make a happy life. Happiness comes all covered in poop, because happiness is work. It's not glamorous--it's fulfilling. 

And that last few weeks have been a lot of work. We're painting the kitchen cabinets, which, if you didn't know, is a project that WILL NOT DIE. Our kitchen has been in renovation mode for so long, I'm about ready to take a chainsaw to it. 

But, even the tedious, small successes make me feel accomplished. I've been falling into bed and almost snoring before my head hits the pillow. Working hard brings me a sense of happiness, contentment. 

Especially when you have friends to help. 

And now for gratuitous Caleb and Mr. Graff pictures, because they make me happy, too. 

O, to have legs long enough to do this: 

Mr. Graff gave me a blessing recently, because the it-feels-like-unrelenting-labor-pain came back. It's a front and back cramping from my shoulders down to my hips that lasts most of the night and I can't sleep. It's reflux, in case you're wondering. I keep the mantra, "pain is inevitable; suffering is optional" at the front of my mind during these episodes because otherwise I'd be scared. Then, I wait it out. 

This blessing talked about forgiveness and kindness and understanding. So, in my copious free time, cramping awake in the middle of the night, I thought about all the people that hurt my feelings, and I asked God to help me let it go---because I can't let it go on my own, obviously. Once I got going, it was a surprisingly long list. And as soon as I couldn't think of another soul, my cramping stopped and I fell asleep. 

I woke up thinking about these words (by Mother Teresa, I think): 

It's between me and God; and never really was between me and them, anyway.